Lost
by Sayori.Hime.Sama
Summary: Airi/Jeile. Romance. What if Aram had never regained his memories, and Airi could not return home to Japan? What would happen to Airi? To Aram?
1. Chapter 1

Fanfiction Idea: Alternate Reality – MeruPuri Style

_What if Aram's memories were never returned to him? What if he never remembered Airi – What would happen? _

_Since then, it's been two years. _

_Aram, at fourteen years of age, is formally and legally wed to Mariabe, also fourteen. _

_Jeile, twenty-one, is technically engaged to Nei, Lei's sister. _

_And Airi, now seventeen, is alone, trapped in the kingdom of Astale – thanks to Raz, she can never return to her home; she can never have a normal life again. She can't use magic, either. _

_Jeile does end up bailing her out of jail. _

1

In the east, the pale winter sun rose slowly from slumber, rising as if it had all the time on Earth, and not a care in the world. It's distant rays lit up the skies with hues of glimmering gold, rosy pink, orange, and red; and in the north corner of the castle, a breeze began to stir, brought on by the chilly northern winds. A slender girl of seventeen sat on the edge of a stone windowsill, staring out with poorly disguised longing out among the cleverly cultivated, royal palace gardens, designed and the care of which was directed by the Queen. Her long, honey blonde hair fell to the small of her back in gentle waves, and her lavender-brown eyes gazed out into space with an auora of sadness that seemed to have a somewhat suphoric effect on her, evidenced by her long and gangly limbs, hanging limply over the edge; one wrong move, one inch closer to the edge of the windowsill, and she would fall – she knew she would, and just that small amount of control, that piece of control she held over her own life, gave her pleasure.

But it was merely an illusion; she had tried to take her life from the fall months earlier, and had failed, and since then Jeile had spun magical webs around the area, to catch her if she should make another attempt. But she would not – there was no guarantee that she would succeed. And the rules were already strict enough without her adding to them. Airi Hoshina brought her knees into her hollow chest, and let out a loose sigh as she heard the morning lark's voice chirp upon the air – soon, she knew, it would be time for her to rise, whether she wished to or not. All of the domestic servants, male and female, were supposed to rise from their assigned sleep at the exact same time – just after dawn.

_Tap tap tap!_

A soft knock fell upon her door, and Airi stiffened.

"You can come in,"

She called out, but didn't even turn around – she knew only one other person could be up so early.

"I'm sorry, Airi onee-san, but I couldn't wait - ! I've never been to a festival before – and it being his Highness Aram's birthday, too! A year ago, no, five months ago, I'd never thought I'd be in the capital."

Aram. The sound of his name, a sound she was forced to hear day in, day out, stabbed a knife into her heart, a heart that, despite two years of separation, hadn't found the time to heal. Putting a fake, small smile on her face to fool her naïve friend, Airi turned around and laughed softly.

"You sound nervous, Riko-chan!"

For what would be one of the very few times for the entire day, Airi smiled at Rieko's obvious blush – it was heartwarming.

"But how can I not be?!"

Rieko whined, pulling worryingly at her dark, long curls of black hair, that so prettily clashed with her pale, doll-like skin. Jumping down a mere two feet from the windowsill, Airi gave her friend an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder and the most sincere grin she could muster.

"Don't worry so much, Riko- You have Jeile-sama to look out for you, and you have me and the other girls as well. So stop being such a cry-baby,"

Airi teased, nudging Rieko on the shoulder playfully, when suddenly another, deeper voice appeared from the still open doorway.

"How many times have I told you by now, Airi?"

Jeile.

That arrogant, capricious, spoiled young man that Airi, ever reluctantly, was indebted to. Riko immediately froze, and the two of them curtsied, Rieko red as a pickled radish, Airi coldly and indifferently; she kept her eyes on the ground, while Rieko couldn't help but look up from one second to the next.

"How many time have you told me what, your Highness?"

Rieko glanced at Airi nervously, and as a glowering Jeile approached them, she took another three steps back.

"Don't use 'sama' when it's just – when it's private – please, even in front of your friend – I know you trust her, so why can't you call me just by my name? You never did that to Ar.."

His hands crazed her cheek, and Airi's spine tightened, and she bit her lip.

"Don't. Don't say his name – please…Jeile."

The twenty-one year old heir to the Astalean throne smirked with triumph, and with a wave of his ringed right hand, he shooed a twitching Riko away and out of the room. As the door shut with a soft click behind them, Jeile approached Airi and, taking her hand gently, pulled her to the small bed she had to herself, in the tower – the room that he had given her after Aram – no, the memory was too painful for her to bear thinking about.

"Airi, I realize today must be hard for you, but please, I need you right now – please, don't be cold to me, not today .."

Without even a word from him, Airi lay down, on her back, upon the bed, her eyes misted over with pain and indifference as Jeile's lips brushed roughly against her cheek, her neck. She lay there, closed her eyes, and tried to forget. To forget one's past love. How she wished she could.

Aram.


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

_To those of you who reviewed and read the first chapter of "Lost", especially Crystal, thank you! Honto ni, arigotou! I look forward to your reviews in the future. Thank you again, I appreciate your support very much. _

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As quickly as she could dare, Airi opened one eye cautiously, and then the other, as she surveyed her immediate surroundings; Jeile's head lay on her chest, and his own eyes were closed in a deep, peaceful sleep; Feeling the cool air around her bare shoulders and the skin of her thighs, Airi blushed crimson with embarassment. Carefully, slowly enough to hear her own joints crack and strain with the effort of not making a single sound, she observed the bright light of day shining through the open window, and bit back a groan. It was already hours past dawn, and she knew that the other maids and servants would be discussing and gossiping about her behind her back; they knew what was going on, of course they did; unfortunately for Airi, subtlety had never been one of Jeile's strong points, and most likely never would be. Gently, she tried to pry herself away, but his grip tightened around her thin shoulders, pulling her closer to him, pushing her back onto her small double bed.

"Get off of me,"

She hissed with irritation, and began punching his firm shoulders as hard as she could.

"Wake up, bakaaaa! You're heavy! Kami…Ja-ku…"

'_God, what a selfish jerk.'_

Suddenly, Jeile's green eyes fluttered open, and he sat up swiftly with a smug grin on his curved lips, making his expression something akin to a sneer. Airi rolled her eyes, cursing inwardly that Jeile had tricked her, even though it was a typical trick of his, pretending to be sleeping while eavesdropping.

But only his eyes, glinting with supressed laughter, acknowledged it; he said nothing to indicate anything besides her previous thought that he had been asleep, innocent as a babe. With a loud yawn, he rose to his feet and stretched, and then slid on his state robes while Airi sulked, sitting stiffly on the side of the bed.

"That was relaxing. Clean yourself up, won't you? It's nine o'clock…I should have let you go hours ago, but…"

He shrugged his shoulders carelessly, not seeming to mind as Airi glared resentfully at him.

"It couldn't be helped. Nannari…Sayonara, Airi."

As the door clicked shut behind him, Airi let out a squeal of fury and threw one, then two, then three of her pillows at the wooden door.

'_Whatever? That's all he has to say? Asshole. Omae…Kirai! I hate you!'_

Quickly, Airi shrugged out of her nightgown and into the outfit of Jeile's maids, or, as he referred to it, his 'favorite' maids. The outfits were disgustingly risque and sexist, but, at the very least, they guaranteed her safety – no one would dare touch her so long as she was 'claimed' by Prince Jeile. Three years ago, the mere thought of being 'claimed' by anyone would have made her blood boil with fury, but that was the distant past – things were different now..She was different. Airi passed the mirror, which was covered by a swath of black cloth for mourning; it had been there ever since Jeile had given her the room three years ago. She mourned the loss of Aram, and the loss of a part of herself, the strong and fearless part, the part that she would never get back as long as she lived. Astale had murdered her true self, and ever since she had cut off herself from her true feelings, she was able to adapt fairly easily to her current circumstances. Everything, all of the hurt and pain – it had all quieted down to a dull roar. Without even a warning, another voice that sounded as if it belonged to a very young child, popped into the room.

"Neh! Migurushii girl .."

'_Eh??? Ugly girl?! Who does she think she's talking to?'_

"Go away and throw your poison to someone else, Maruru."

The cheeky, mischevious fairy, once the size of her thumb, was now just as tall as she was, and smirked at Airi in a way that made her flesh crawl with dread – what was she planning now?

"Yaa! Why would I, when you're so much more fun, mountain lily girl? Blech, I still think you're too nasty to be a mountain lily. Maybe a pile of…Betsuni…."

Choosing not to engage in an argument with Maruru, who, coincidentially, always seemed to be looking for one, Airi strode past her, slipped on her black lace platform shoes, and walked out of the door to her quarters, Maruru following hard on her heels.

"Ah! Gomene – I only came here to tell you that her Highness, Veedua-Sama, requested that you take the place of Aram-Sama's personal attendant, Lei – he's sick."

"N-nani?"

'_What?!?!'_

Airi froze then, and her small fists clenched and unclenched as her mind went into panick mode; meanwhile, Maruru watched with a sneer full of pitying contempt.

'_Aram…I can't…He…he doesn't even know who I am…how can I? How will he react…he does remember how I tried to get him back…but…I failed.'_

Her head hung low, and she struggled to fight back the tears that swarmed to the corners of her eyes, fighting to pour down her cheeks, pale with shock and dismay. Without another word to an equally stunned Maruru, who most likely expected Airi to flare out and refuse, Airi continued to walk down the several flights of stairs, her face devoid of any emotion, stoic and blank as the face of a rock, while inside, she felt as if she were dying all over again. Was Jeile behind all of this? Was he trying to torment her again, with her past love?

As she entered the throne room, a chill swept through her body, but she managed to keep her head up as she approached the royal family: the King, the Queen Veedua, the latter of whom grinned cruelly at her, Jeile, who winked at her and then proceeded to glare cooly at his step-mother, and then, finally, Aram, who stared straight ahead, refusing to even meet her gaze. His cool reception nearly broke her heart, but despite her grief, Airi bowed deeply, her head down as she awaited orders.

"Hoshina Airi-san, you will attend his highness Aram for the entire length of the feast and revelries today. Understood?"

Asked the Queen in a knowing, smug tone.

"Hai, your highness,"

Airi muttered in a low voice, curtsying again; she had memorized all of the proper responses to Astalean royalty long ago – there were no room for mistakes at court, as she had come to realize.

"Good. Aram?"

The fifteen year old Prince bowed to his mother, and nodded towards Airi, and, as he left the room, she followed, her heart pounding like a skull rattling in an empty can in her ribcage. As soon as they were alone, outside of the Main Hall, he turned with a tortured expression on his face, and Airi blinked in surprise as he asked her -


End file.
